Grassroots Centre for Rights & Civic Orientation unequivocally has condemned the recent arbitrary decision of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to approve a 50% hike in telecoms tariffs.
According to the Executive Director, Armsfree Ajanaku in a Statement, the hike from the industry regulator was announced without due consideration of the current excruciating economic burdens Nigerians are facing.
It is quite disheartening that the NCC succumbed to the pressure of the telecommunications companies, whose epileptic and unreliable services, have over the years, left Nigerians and their businesses in constant frustration. From dropped calls to internet downtime and glitches, Nigerians have continued to endure terrible services, while the regulatory body turns a blind eye.
Looking at the NCC’s argument justifying the tariff hike, the emphasis was on the notion that “the tariff rates have remained static since 2013, despite the increasing cost of operation faces by telecom operators.” Any reasonable observer would have expected the focus of the NCC to be on the quality of service being provided by the telcos.
The fundamental question is: does the current quality of service on offer justify any hike whatsoever? Even if the cost of inflation and the exchange rate volatility is considered, does a 50 percent rise in tariffs, not an overkill at a time Nigerians are groaning as a result of economic hardships. As a regulator, is the NCC’s role to help the telcos engage in price gouging or to ensure a telecoms industry with world class quality of service?
Also, the point about the rising cost of operations driven by the inflation, foreign exchange volatility, the increase cost of diesel and network maintenance were not caused by ordinary Nigerians. Those policies, which exponentially escalated the cost of essential goods and services, we pushed through by the government, despite the wise counsel offered that it should tread with caution.
In essence, this hike is a case of ordinary Nigerians being punished and having to bear the brunt of the government’s hastily executed and poorly implemented economic policies.
Grassroots Centre notes that with this increase, Nigerians would now be paying as much as N16.50k per minute for call from N11 per minute. The cost of SMS is also project to rise to N6 from N4, while the cost of 1 gigabyte data will now most likely rise from N431.25k from N350. At the last count, citizens have been reeling under the effects of higher fuel cost, higher payments for electricity tariffs and now an arbitrary hike in telecoms services.
As such, there can be no disputing the fact that the latest hike is extortionate and driven more by the profiteering of the telcos, and not ideal objective of addressing the abysmally poor quality of telecoms services.
It is also instructive that the NCC has provided no road map or strategy for ensuring the telcos do better in terms of providing seamless and efficient services. Grassroots Centre therefore calls for a reversal of telecoms tariff hike.
We call on the NCC to immediately share with Nigerians a comprehensive framework for ensuring telcos deliver in terms of providing Nigerians with world class telecoms service. Only such a service-driven approach can birth a telecoms industry, which will serve Nigeria’s economic development, not the arbitrary profiteering of a few telecom giants.
